When my tutors ask me what I studied in college and I respond with “industrial engineering,” I typically get one of two responses: either “I’m not exactly sure what industrial engineering is,” or “So what are you doing here?” I’ll answer both in this post, as I do in my reading center. But what I’ll add here, as I don’t always have time to do in my reading center, is explain what engineering has to do with education, what I hope to do in the future, and why people from all backgrounds – even technical ones – should consider a career in the education industry. My journey to AmeriCorps at Readin ..read more

Baltimoreans know their city as a culturally diverse, predominantly working-class community that prides itself on its love for seafood, sports, and its significance throughout United States history. The legacy of those like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, two forces championing the civil rights and freedom of all people, are forever intertwined with Baltimore and serve as a marker for our presence in the minds of Americans nationwide.  However, it is important to acknowledge that Baltimore’s history also includes practices that went against the ideals of Douglass and Tubman—policie ..read more

In the realm of education and community service, there exists a group of dedicated individuals who commit their time, energy, and passion to making a tangible difference across their communities. Every year, Reading Partners welcomes over 350 AmeriCorps members into our ranks. These individuals, driven by a shared mission to enhance literacy and empower young minds, embark on a journey that extends far beyond the boundaries of a typical job. However, what sets these members apart is not just their altruistic spirit, but also their ability to navigate the financial landscape on a modest living ..read more

In a world increasingly connected by digital threads, the irony of the growing epidemic of loneliness is hard to ignore. With societies around the globe witnessing a surge in feelings of isolation and disconnectedness, the quest for solutions has never been more urgent.  In April 2023, the U.S. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and public health authorities recognized loneliness as a significant public health concern. The growing epidemic of loneliness is increasingly acknowledged for its profound impact on both mental and physical health. Studies and reports, including th ..read more

Reading Partners has a proven, effective model that makes a meaningful, measurable difference on students’ literacy growth and achievement. In 2023, 79% of Reading Partners Baltimore students met or exceeded their primary end-of-year literary growth goal. More than 300 community tutors went to great lengths to support students and make these statistics possible, including several university students. But what is it like actually volunteering with Reading Partners as a college student? Morgan State University (MSU) is a storied HBCU located in Baltimore. MSU prides itself on teaching, intensive ..read more

As March comes to a close, Women’s History Month reminds us of the importance of education about women’s contributions to our collective history. For decades, United States school social studies curriculum developers have faced the challenge of condensing America’s long, complex history into a digestible format that can be taught to K-12 students.  Unfortunately, this challenge has yet to be overcome. Social studies curriculum developers have historically neglected to include the vast history of women’s contributions to society in the United States. In fact, the National Women’s History M ..read more

Literacy is broadly defined as one’s ability to read and write. Illiteracy, naturally, is the opposite—the inability to read and write and the lack of knowledge connected to this inability. Since our founding in 1999, Reading Partners has worked to combat illiteracy by empowering children with the foundational reading skills they deserve to succeed both in school and beyond.  Restricting access to literacy education for certain groups has a long-standing place in U.S. history, especially as a tool to purposely disrupt and damage the African-American community and deny them their civil rig ..read more

Washington, DC – March 13, 2024 – Reading Partners DC is excited to welcome three new board members this year, two of them bring experience as Reading Partners tutors, and each brings a wealth of knowledge to support the mission of empowering young readers to succeed in reading and life. Dr. Kenya Dugger is the Senior Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director at Chemonics, a private international development firm. Dr. Dugger brings 21 years of experience in the Army and Department of Defense, and more than twelve years of experience working with executives and employees in the areas of global ..read more

In the 2022-23 academic school year, according to testing scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 33% of fourth grade students were reading at or above NAEP standards for proficient reading. Only 63% of fourth grade students performed at or above basic standards for reading. These numbers are catastrophically low. They are proof that in the United States, the strategies we are using to teach reading are not working. But even these numbers skew the truth of reading proficiency. For Black and brown children, the statistics are even lower with only 17% of Black an ..read more

Last month, one of my students came in wearing a bedazzled sweatshirt that read “University.” I was curious, so I asked if she could pronounce the word and if she knew what it meant. Her response was ‘’no.’’ She just thought the sweatshirt was pretty. When I realized she didn’t know what a university was, we started a beautiful conversation about the many paths she could explore for her future. College wasn’t something she was aware of as an option for her future. Hearing her amazement made me think, “who else doesn’t know what that means in my classroom? And what can I do to change that?” Tha ..read more